title: What to do when the family cannot agree to withdraw life support.
abstract: This article describes a family who could not agree to withdraw life support from a ventilator-dependent woman who was unresponsive and whose death was inevitable. Evidence-based recommendations are given and resources identified to assist critical care nurses to facilitate discussions among family members who disagree about end-of-life care and to help nurses discuss end-of-life orders, address cultural issues, manage family conflict, assist families to make decisions, and act with moral courage and ethical humility when supporting families and each other during withdrawal of life support.
authors.affiliation: Yolanda M. Hyde, PhD, RN, BC, OCN, is an assistant professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Donald D. Kautz, PhD, RN, CRRN, CNE, is an associate professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Marian Jordan, MSN, RN, is the Director of Nursing at Autumn Care of Raeford, North Carolina, and a Clinical Nurse Educator at Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Yolanda M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Hyde
authors.forename: Donald D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Kautz
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jordan
mesh_terms: D064648:Critical Care Nursing; D054541:Family Conflict; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012297:Right to Die; D012956:Societies, Nursing; D028761:Withholding Treatment